Health Advice Q & A

How can I naturally clear up staphylococcal skin infections on my body?

Over the summer one of the best things you can do is to go swim in the ocean or sea and get some natural salt water onto your skin. Iodine betadine creams from the chemist help clear up bacterial infections.

Tea tree oil diluted is also very good for clearing staph bacterial infections. Hot water to wash all your clothes, towels and bed clothes is best to kill the staph bacteria. Your GP can also prescribe staphylococcal treatments if not healing with the natural alone.

I've had the viral gastroenteritis that is going around. What is the best thing to drink and take to help me recover?

You could try sipping simple filtered water or mineral water while very unwell and ideally add some electrolytes such as Elete electrolytes. Coconut water is great and Kefir coconut water really helps as do vegetable or chicken broths with sea salt and some sea vegetables. Miso is also good to sip on. Plain simple foods once better. Hope you get well soon!

I have been diagnosed with a possible low thyroid or thyroid autoantibodies or Hashimotos autoimmune thyroid disease on blood tests what does this mean and what do you recommend as a holistic medical doctor?

The thyroid antibodies are a sign your immune system is attacking your own thyroid and causing it to be inflamed so it doesn't function as well. The antibody levels often seem to improve when people go on a gluten free or low inflammation diet. I recommend you try a gluten free diet, zinc & selenium mineral supplements & some omega 3 natural healthy foods or supplements to help calm any inflammation in the thyroid. Your doctor or the holistic clinic can monitor thyroid function & antibodies to see if improving. We can go over natural options to improve your thyroid function overall.

What are some of the natural ways to help keep the bowel moving healthily so not so constipated?

Constipation can be helped by keeping plenty of water and healthy oils (olive, avocado, coconut) in the diet, or try add more vegetables, natural fibre like beetroot, prunes, figs, kiwifruit, Chia seeds, or drinks like Alpine tea and see your doctor if it persists.

My energy is down lately what would you do to help this at your holistic clinic?

I usually go over your history, diet, nutrients, any medications, hormonal changes, adrenals & examine the body for any problems. Then we do comprehensive blood tests looking for any underlying problems. Some common things we find are low Vitamin D, low B vitamins, low adrenals or adrenal fatigue. We also review your diet for protein, essential fatty acids ( omega oils), minerals and so on. There are many natural options for improving mood and energy.

How does Vitamin C help kill off cancer cells?

The theory is that Vitamin C works by the fact that cancer cells are often immature cells lacking all the enzymes of a mature cell.When Vitamin C enters a healthy cell it is changed into water and oxygen through enzyme reactions. When Vitamin C enters some cancer or unhealthy cells lacking enzymes it changes into H2O2 or Hydrogen peroxide which basically acts like bleach in the cell.

I'm having a hard time with my menstrual hormones: headaches, hot flushes, broken sleep, some anxiety & mood changes. I've heard about natural or bio-identical hormones do you prescribe these?

These bio-identical hormones are on prescription and if you email me I can recommend some doctors who work with prescriptions. I don't do prescriptions, but do offer natural options such as herbs and nutrients to help women through the menopause and often use them to help in the time leading up to menopause or to help a woman with menopause problems. We usually do blood and sometimes saliva testing of the hormones first & also look at natural options like diet, nutritional & herbal supplements that can help support the body.

How can I prevent Alzheimers / Dementia?

The key to this is to have a diet rich in healthy fats like olive oils, fish oils, butter, animal fats that feed and repair the brain. Also eat and drink foods that are very rich in natural anti-oxidants so your brain doesn’t get damaged from toxins like aluminium, mercury and other toxic substances over the years.

I want to work on my fertility naturally & my friend recommended I see you & a naturopath. Can you help me?

Yes, I often see women wanting to improve their health before getting pregnant or who need some support to look at the issue of fertility. The best thing is to come along for a consultation and I can go over the blood tests & natural options & education to help you make sure you are optimizing your chances of falling pregnant naturally or determining simple things like are you ovulating naturally & how can we encourage that using herbs and other natural options. I am happy to work in with your other natural practitioners & GP or any specialists you might be seeing for your fertility.

What do you do for a Well Woman or Well Man Check? I hardly go to the doctor and don't really have a GP.

I take a full history of your health so far and do an examination including blood pressure, heart check, skin check as needed as well as full blood tests and nutritional review so we can optimize your health and help you improve your health, sleep quality, exercise, diet or continue to stay well. Copy of the results can go to your GP if you want if you have one or otherwise we simply keep a record at the holistic clinic so you can come for a good thorough nutritional & health check or warrant of fitness each year. You should get smears done via your local GP clinic as I don't do those.

I've put on weight and am having trouble with sleep & my blood sugar control can you help me?

Yes. It pays to come and do a holistic review as there are often factors we can discover on full blood testing that help explain the changes in your weight & metabolism. Magnesium is a common deficiency & often supplementation with a good quality magnesium helps restore sleep quality or a boost of Vitamin D, chromium & key minerals & nutrients can make a world of difference to your wellbeing as well as a review of any hormonal or other changes in your metabolism.

I have had a loss with my relationship, stress at work, I'm not sleeping well and I am feeling down. Are there any natural options that you can help me with as I don't want to take any anti-depressant or sleeping prescription type medications?

There are many natural options we can go over. At the Auckland Holistic Centre we have a policy where we do not prescribe anti-depressants or sleeping tablets due to potential side-effects instead we look at any underlying physical & nutritional or hormonal or environmental factors that might be contributing to your low mood or poor sleep & energy. Often there is something such as a low Vitamin D, or low B vitamin contributing to your low mood & there are natural nutrients such as magnesium that can help restore good sleep, energy & mood. We can work in with your GP or naturopath or counsellor to help you look at all the holistic natural options.